Any Evidence of the Longest Voyage in a P-19?

Posted By: Carl P-19 #1432 "Dagmar" on SF Bay
Date: 5/14/08 9:02a.m.

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On the recent Bethel Island Delta sail, in an interesting discussion with Jerry Barrilleaux, a question came up regarding the longest known voyage ever made in a West Wight Potter 19. When I asked whether the longest P-19 sail was Bill Teplow's sail in "Chubby" from Berkeley, California to Hilo, Hawaii, Jerry said that he recalled there was a gentleman in the mid-1970s who made a longer P-19 voyage from San Diego to Tahiti. The San Diego to Tahiti sail of approximately 4075 miles (3541 nautical miles) is clearly farther than the sail of roughly 2331 miles (2026 nautical miles) from Berkeley to Hilo, Hawaii. From what I can find on the internet, the primary evidence of this San Diego to Tahiti voyage is posted and related by Michael S Antis (msantis@juno.com) on Tue, 13 Oct 1998 at: Source: http://potter-yachters.org/archive/199810/0089.html Mike Antis indicated that Jerry Powers of Johnson Sails, Inc. told him that the Tahiti sail was made by Bob Barrell of St. Petersburg, FL, who sailed from San Diego to Tahiti in 1974 or 1974 in his HMS-18, stayed there a year, and then returned with his boat being shipped back to the mainland on a freighter. Mr. Barrell had passed away by the time of the 1998 report. That is the only information I can find so far, with the sole exception of a social security death record of a Robert Barrell (Feb 20, 1922-Nov 1986) of St. Petersburg, FL, who appears likely to have been the holder of this record. Does anyone have any evidence of the details of the longest sail in a P-19? Best, Carl Sundholm